Jiang Ziya was a founding hero of the Western Zhou dynasty and a central figure in the Investiture of the Gods legend.
Jiang Ziya, of the Jiang surname and Lu lineage, given name Shang, courtesy name Ziya, was a famous statesman and military strategist of the late Shang and early Zhou period. He assisted King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou in planning the great campaign to conquer Shang, and after the Western Zhou was established he was enfeoffed in the land of Qi, becoming the founding ruler of the state of Qi. Later generations often honored him as Jiang Tai Gong, Tai Gong Wang or Qi Tai Gong.
In folk legends and the novel Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya is portrayed as a legendary figure skilled in magic who presided over the investiture of the gods. The story of Jiang Tai Gong fishing, that the willing fish takes the hook, is widely told: he fished with a straight hook on the bank of the Wei River, waiting for a wise ruler, and eventually met King Wen of Zhou. Legend says he was over seventy before he came out of retirement to achieve great deeds, so he is often regarded as a representative of late-blooming success.
Because of his outstanding achievements, Jiang Ziya was highly esteemed through the ages and is regarded as a sage of the military school and of strategy. Among the people he is seen as a figure who can protect peace and suppress evil spirits, and the saying "Jiang Tai Gong is here, all gods retreat" is widely circulated. Idioms and two-part allegorical sayings related to him have also entered everyday language in large numbers, with a very far-reaching influence.
Today Jiang Ziya remains a popular subject in film, television, animation and cultural creative fields, and some villages even paint cartoon versions of Jiang Ziya on their walls to beautify the village and attract tourists. However, directly copying specific cartoon figures from animation or film and television may involve copyright issues, so villages and communities had best design their own or obtain authorization in advance when creating painted murals.
